Greetings, Church Family,
The Search Committee would like to express our heartfelt thanks to the congregation and the Leadership Team for your support throughout the survey process. Your participation was tremendous and played a vital role in helping us complete all the information needed for the church profile. We want to share a bit of background on what has taken place so far, as well as what comes next.

Throughout the fall, our committee met regularly. Our first meeting was with Doug Veal, DEM, to review steps and requirements in the search process. We reviewed our previously submitted profile and discussed the best path forward to completing the 14‑page profile by December. This profile offers a snapshot of who we are as a church and is designed to help potential pastoral candidates get to know us.

The congregational survey you completed provided essential information directly required for the profile. The Leadership Team also completed a separate set of questions, and their input was equally important. We are grateful for every comment that was submitted—your thoughtful reflections helped us enrich the profile and will continue to guide us as we begin conversations with candidates.

We also want to thank our Worship Ministry Team chairs, Chris Stockslager and Allyson McPeak, for gathering additional information we needed so promptly. Before submitting the final profile, we met with the Leadership Team for review and feedback. We are pleased to share that the profile was officially submitted during the first week of December.
And now for some wonderful news: Our profile has been approved and is now in circulation throughout the denomination. Doug shared that he feels we put together a great snapshot of our church—so thank you to everyone who contributed to this effort.

Next Steps
In the immediate future, the Search Committee will be having additional conversations with church staff to gather further insight as we prepare interview questions for potential candidates. We will be working on this throughout January while we await word on any potential pastoral candidates from the district. Once we receive candidate profile/s, we will review them carefully and determine whom we would like to interview.

We will continue providing monthly updates to the Leadership Team. If you have any questions, concerns or want to provide any additional insight, at any point, please feel free to reach out to any member of the Search Committee: Ed Beachley, Vince Bourdeau, Amy Clipp, Jack Finniff, Nicole Forsyth, Heather Kees, Ed Plank, and Eileen Smith.

Most importantly, we ask that you continue to keep our church, our future pastor, and this entire process in your prayers.

Happy New Year, The Search Committee

“A Song was Heard at Christmas”
By Timothy Dudley-Smith (b. 1926)

A song was heard at Christmas
to wake the midnight sky:
a Saviour’s birth, and peace on earth,
and praise to God on high.
The angels sang at Christmas
with all the hosts above,
and still we sing the new-born King,
his glory and his love.

A star was seen at Christmas,
a herald and a sign,
that all might know the way to go
to find the child divine.
The wise men watched at Christmas
in some far eastern land,
and still the wise in starry skies
discern their Maker’s hand.

A tree was grown at Christmas,
a sapling green and young;
no tinsel bright with candlelight
upon its branches hung.
But he who came at Christmas
our sins and sorrows bore,
and still we name his tree of shame
our life for evermore.

A child was born at Christmas
when Christmas first began;
the Lord of all a baby small, the Son of God made man.
For love is ours at Christmas,
and life and light restored,
and so we praise through endless days
the Saviour, Christ the Lord.

(© Hope Publishing Company in the United States of America and the rest of the world.
Reproduced by permission of Oxford University Press. All
rights reserved. CCLI – Copyright License 2321578 )

“Speaking to the people, he went on, “Take care! Protect yourself against the least bit of greed. Life is not defined by what you have, even when you have a lot.” (Luke 12:15)
“This is my command: Love one another the way I loved you. This is the very best way to love. Put your life on the line for your friends. You are my friends when you do the things I command you.” (John 15:12-14)
“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (Colossians 3:17)

I want to make a confession. As I journey towards my retirement, I enjoy looking back to see what I was writing about in my monthly Pastor’s Pen articles. Some remind me about things we have done together, and others speak of lessons about what it means to be the church, and still others address world issues that we face as Christians. Not all are relevant to our current days. But I came across this Pastor’s Pen for Thanksgiving 2021. Maybe you remember it; I don’t. I like the message and felt it is worth sharing again. I hope it blesses you again.
“Tis the season of Thanksgiving. Although we should express our gratitude to God year-round; we place more emphasis on it at this time of year because we have a special day on the calendar called Thanksgiving. Many of us will gather with family and friends for a delicious meal…maybe play some games or watch football…or maybe nap after gorging ourselves with turkey, known to be full of tryptophan. Ah…what a delightful day!
However, it is good for us to keep this pleasure in perspective. One thing to keep in mind is that there are many who are not looking forward to having a Thanksgiving with these delights. The loss of a loved one, brokenness in a relationship, poor health, financial challenges, fear and insecurity can put a damper on celebrating Thanksgiving and feeling thankful. This is not said to make anyone feel shame or guilt for enjoying the holiday; but perhaps, this reminder will inspire us to be generous with some expressions of understanding and hope through acts of kindness.
No matter our circumstances, we all have reasons to be thankful. I chose the three verses above to guide some of our thoughts as we prepare our spirits for Thanksgiving.
The scripture from Luke, challenges us to loosen our hold on our desire for things. We surely should be grateful for whatever we possess; but that which we have should not overtake us with pride and greed. As the verse says, we are not defined by what we have. God finds the essence of who we are as He looks into our hearts and sees the results of what motivates our words and actions. Thanking God for what we have means recognizing with grace that which we have; and at the same time offering to God opportunities to bless others through that which we’ve been given.
The second scripture I’ve chosen for this thanksgiving reflection, is to remind us of the blessings we receive through our friendships with others; particularly those with our brothers and sisters in Christ. Friendship is one of the greatest gifts we can be given in our lifetime. However, it is not a free gift. As the scripture reminds us, long lasting friendships require empathy, effort, consistency, forgiveness…all of which are expressions of love. We have received this great gift of love from our Savior, Jesus Christ; our dearest and truest friend. As we love others, then, as he loves us, we are drawn into deeper friendship with him. The friendship we have with Jesus, and with our brothers and sisters in Christ should not be taken for granted. We should offer our gratitude for these important relationships.
And finally, the third scripture I chose for this reflection, is to remind us to give thanks for the opportunities we have to serve others…to answer God’s call to help build God’s kingdom. What a privilege we have in blessing others through words and deeds! It is not always easy to make the sacrifice of our time, energy and resources to do what God needs us to do. But the rewards are great. We please God when we reach out to others. And, our faith is strengthened as we reflect on how the Holy Spirit has empowered and used our words and actions to bless others. Yes, we are blessed to have occasions to serve, and we should give thanks to God for these opportunities
There is much for which to be grateful. I encourage you to take some time to reflect on the verses I have shared here with you. Think about the specifics in each area as you’ve experienced them over the past year. Then, pray with thanksgiving to God for the blessings that you have received. We all have reasons for offering our thankfulness to God. Praise and thanksgiving to our glorious God…and our Savior, Jesus Christ!” Happy Thanksgiving, Pastor Twyla